In the
spring of each year, the Commandant approves an Officer Corps Management
Plan (OCMP) prepared by CG-1. This document establishes the number of
officers authorized in each grade, the opportunity of selection for each
promotion board, and whether to hold certain boards such as Captain
Continuation, LT Continuation, and Reserve Extension. CG-1 then uses
the approved OCMP to develop a memorandum authorizing the promotion zone
sizes and the number of officers to select. These numbers are
approximately equal to the number of vacancies estimated for the next 12
months, less the number of officers on the promotion list for that grade.
The same memo from CG-1 establishing numbers of officers to be promoted also
establishes the zone sizes. Decisions about zone sizes and opportunities of
promotion for each grade are based on a few factors: the needs of the
Service; the estimated number of vacancies available in future years to
provide comparable opportunity to promote officers in successive year
groups; and the extent to which current terms of service in that grade
conform to a desirable career promotion path. After receiving authorization
from CG-1, CG PSC releases an ALCGPSC message announcing the zone sizes
and the numbers to be promoted for each grade. (14 U.S.C. § 253, 14 U.S.C.
§ 255)

For a given board, the
stated OOS is simply the total number of officers to be selected divided by
the number of officers in zone. The actual OOS is the number of
officers selected in zone divided by the number of officers in and above/below
zone. The actual OOS is usually lower because some officers may be
selected from above and below the zone. The difference between stated and
actual OOS is best illustrated in an example.

For the 2001
LCDR promotion board the CG-1 memo announced the following:

# to be selected = 203
# in zone = 231

therefore, the stated OOS was 203/231 = 88%

In making their decisions, the board
actually selected:

17 (above zone)

185 (in zone)

1 (below zone)

Therefore, the actual OOS (for those in
zone) was 185/231 = 80%.
As is
usually the case, the actual OOS was lower than the stated OOS.

Most
promotion boards are best qualified (Lieutenant through Rear Admiral (lower
half)). All officers under consideration compete with each other for a
limited number of vacancies. The Coast Guard officer workforce depicts a
pyramid structure, which relies on a large junior officer workforce but a
much smaller senior officer workforce. Natural attrition alone is
inadequate to reduce the size of the workforce as it matures. A best
qualified board will always result in fewer officers selected than were
considered. By necessity, the best qualified process results in the
non-selection for promotion of officers who may be fully qualified to serve
in the next-higher grade.

(2)Develop criteria by which
officers can be compared and apply the same criteria to all those being
considered;

(3)Evaluate
by comparison, with the most capable officers advancing to positions of
higher responsibility; and

(4)Be legally sufficient.

Selection
boards convened to recommend officers for promotion to the grades
of lieutenant through rear admiral (lower half) consider officers on a "best
qualified" basis. Promotion to lieutenant (junior grade) is made on a
"Fully Qualified" basis. "Best Qualified" selection boards are instructed,
via Coast Guard policy, to compare all officers under consideration and base
their recommendations on the extent to which the officers compare among
themselves in accomplishing past assignments and potential for greater
responsibility. "Best Qualified" boards consider officers' records,
comparing past performance, the officers' capacity to undertake successfully
tasks of progressively greater difficulty involving broader
responsibilities, the officers' capability and inclination to study for
further professional growth, and their potential to perform creditably
those duties to which they might be assigned in the next higher grade.

LTJG promotion boards are
fully qualified. These boards recommend those officers for promotion whose
records indicate they are qualified to perform all duties to which they
reasonably might be assigned in the grade for which they are being
considered. The board must recommend whether each officer it considers is
or is not fully qualified, without any restrictions or qualifications. The
board may also determine an officer to be performing unsatisfactorily in
grade. In that case, the officer's commissions is revoked and the member is
discharged from the officer corps. All officers under consideration may be
selected in a fully qualified board.

Promotion boards recommend on either a best qualified or fully qualified
basis as set forth in law and directed in the precept. Each board develops
its own overall standards and selection criteria. The degree of
significance a board assigns to each of the many factors it considers may
vary according to the grade and type of selection the board is making. A
board selecting officers for lieutenant may emphasize different factors than
would a captain continuation board.

Whether convened on a "fully qualified" or a "best qualified" basis,
selection boards are required to consider four basic criteria: performance, professionalism, leadership and education. In addition, per 14
U.S.C. § 254, selection boards must consider the efficiency of the Coast
Guard. Based on the above factors, each board develops its own overall
selection criteria. The degree of significance a board assigns to each of
the many factors it considers may vary according to the grade and type of
selection the board is making. Boards are charged to make their decisions
based on matters of record only, and are provided each eligible officer's
record for consideration. The Coast Guard does not require its selection
boards to consider any criteria other than those mentioned above, and
provides direction to ensure fairness and impartiality in the deliberative
process.

The Coast Guard is very
constrained by Law on what information promotion boards are allowed to see.
Officer promotion boards review only officers' service records and any
communications from candidates directly to the board. Records are presented
to the boards using electronic imaging. To ensure that all candidates
compete on a level playing field, officer promotion boards only see the
officer portion of a record (not the enlisted portion for those officers
with prior enlisted service). The boards are also given eligibility rosters
of the candidates in alphabetical order. Above and in zone officer rosters
are combined, so that the status of the candidates is not discernible.
Information regarding ethnicity is notavailable to promotion
boards at any time. (14 U.S.C. § 258)

No. The precepts tell the
board how many officers to select for promotion from the eligible candidate
pool without any reference to race or gender. Based on the Supreme Court's
ruling in the 1995 case of Adarand v. United States Department of
Transportation, Federal affirmative action programs that use racial and/or
ethnic criteria as a basis for decision making are subject to strict
judicial scrutiny, which typically results in judicial invalidation of such
race-based initiatives. In the wake of the Adarand decision, the DOD
has lost several landmark cases (Baker v. United States and most
recently, Christian v. United States) in which selection boards were
impermissibly using race and gender as criteria. In essence, the impact of
the Adarand decision and follow on rulings is that boards cannot be
directed to consider minority or gender status in selecting those officers
"best qualified" for promotion.

No. The
precepts tell the board how many officers to select without stating any
quotas for a given specialty. However, the Law requires promotion boards to
consider "the efficiency of the Coast Guard."

Yes, board presidents have
an equal vote in any decisions made by the board. All promotion boards (O-2
through O-5) have an O-6 president who acts as the senior member. The O-6
and O-7 boards have flag officer presidents.

In a small
service such as ours, it is not unusual for board members to have personal
knowledge of officers under consideration. For instance, a board member who
is CO of a unit may have his OPS boss or a JO under consideration. In some
cases, board members may have friends or distant relatives under
consideration. However, board members are charged to make their decisions
on matters of record only. Board members who feel that they have personal
knowledge of a member under consideration may recuse themselves from
evaluating that member for promotion.

No. Promotion boards are
not given any information about medical condition of the officers under
consideration. They are instructed to assume that all officers whose
records they see are medically qualified.

PSCNOTE
1401 (series) is published every spring announcing the convening dates for
all active duty promotion boards and panels for the upcoming promotion
year. Promotion years occur from 01 July to 30 June of a given year.

Deliberations of a
promotion board are confidential, and board members take an oath to that
effect. This requirement is not to hide the process, but is instead
intended to protect officers from following what could be misleading
guidance. Every year, boards convene with different members, a different
precept, and different Service needs. They develop their own specific
criteria for promotion. If each board gave out advice as to what they
thought was the key to promotion, officers might follow suggestions that
would not help them succeed in future years. Officers seeking career and
promotion advice should ask their assignment officers for feedback and
recommendations on how to strengthen their records or contact OPM-4 to
obtain career counseling. (14 U.S.C. § 261).
Most importantly, officers should read and familiarize themselves with
Chapter 6.A.3.b of Officer Accessions, Evaluations, Promotions, COMDTINST
M1000.3, which describes the criteria that must be
considered by promotion boards: performance, professionalism, leadership,
and education.

No.
Promotion boards will not see the specific contents of your retirement or
resignation request. However they will be presented with a list of those
that have approved resignation requests for whom orders have been cut. Each
promotion board decides on their own how to handle these separations when
making selection decisions. If you desire to resign under the temporary
separation program, and want to compete for promotion before you leave the
Service, you would be wise to submit your letter after the promotion board
meets. Promotion boards cannot distinguish between a temporary separation
and a regular resignation.

The major difference that you will see is in the
application procedure for the CWO Appointment Board, CWO to LT Board, RPA
Designation Board, and the Reserve Extension Board. Officers will apply to
these boards using the e-resume with command endorsement on the CGHRMS
system. For all other promotion boards, the CGHRMS system will generate
eligibility lists so make sure you verify your name on promotion board
announcement messages as some data may not transfer correctly. The most
important thing for all members to do is update their personal contact
information in the CGHRMS system.

Review your official record
for completeness. While every effort is made to ensure that records are
checked for completeness prior to each promotion board, officers are
ultimately responsible for their own records. Copies may be obtained by
email through U. S. Coast Guard
Personnel Service Center Records Branch (mr).

Thirty days prior to
convening a board, an announcement message is released listing all the
candidates in and above zone. Make sure that your name appears on this
message if you are an in or above zone candidate for a particular board. If
you do not see your name on the announcement message and you think it should
be there, contact the boards section of CG PSC (opm-1) immediately.

Officers are entitled under
14 U.S.C. 253 to send a communication to their promotion board. Letters
must be sent through their chains of command, to arrive not later than the
date the board convenes. The communication may invite attention to that
officer's armed forces record alone. It may not criticize any officer or
reflect upon the character, conduct, or motive of any officer. Officers
desiring to submit communications to the board are advised to do so well in
advance, since CG PSC reviews all letters for compliance with the
requirements of Officer Accessions, Evaluations, Promotions, COMDTINST
M1000.3. Prohibited comments may be removed by the member and the
letter resubmitted, or they will be redacted by CG PSC. Article 3.A.4.f of
COMDTINST M1000.3 or 9.D of the PSCNOTE 1401 provides specific guidance on communicating with a selection
board.

The imaging
program at the headquarters records room is a completely separate system
from CGHRMS. The records room scans an image of a paper copy of your
records into the computer. Copies of awards must be forwarded to
CG PSD-mr to ensure that they are scanned into the imaging system that
promotion boards use.

No.
Promotion boards are governed by law, not just policy. Once a board report
is approved the results are firm. Promotion boards are not reconvened to
address any type of appeal. If an officer wishes to correct an error in
their official record that may have contributed to a non-selection, the
proper vehicle is submitting a form DD-149 to have the issue addressed by
the Personnel Records Review Board (PRRB) for errors within one year or a
Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR) for errors older than one
year.

Most promotion board
reports are routed through the Commandant to the Secretary of Homeland
Security for final approval. Results are not disseminated until this
occurs. Once CG PSC receives the approved board report back from the
Department of Homeland Security, non-selection calls are made. This
notification is done as a courtesy so that non-selected officers are not
taken by surprise when the board results message is released. Once a
reasonable attempt to notify all non-selected officers has been made, the
results message is released to the field. The entire process, from board
adjournment to release of the message, usually takes from four to six
weeks. (14 U.S.C § 261)

As a
result of the "best qualified" selection process, some high performing
officers are passed over. Boards have the benefit of seeing each member's
entire record (including things along the way that co-workers may not
be aware of) and being able to then compare all of those records in one
sitting. Other officers may have had much stronger complete records in
comparison to someone you personally know.It is important to
remember that the "best qualified" selection process often results in very
tough competition among qualified officers.

The Coast
Guard takes great pains to ensure that the members of each selection board
are high performing officers who provide as wide a representation of the
officer corps under consideration as possible. Board members are carefully
chosen to reflect a broad diversity of professional communities, ethnic
backgrounds, gender, commissioning sources and geographical regions.
Messages to the officer corps announcing the results of selection boards
list the board membership to provide confidence in the promotion system to
those officers under consideration. (14 U.S.C. § 252) Selection board
members are not authorized to advocate for any particular group or
individual; rather, they are chosen to ensure fair consideration and to
instill confidence in the process.

No. The
decision to select officers from below the zone is made by boards on their
own. They are told the total number to select (above, below, and in zone
combined) and are reminded of the maximum number that can be selected below
the zone by law.

No. You do
not need to "apply" to be considered as a below the zone candidate by the
board. However, to make yourself more competitive it is best to ensure that
your most recent OER has been validated prior to the board meeting so that
your record is up to date.

No. All
eligible candidates from every CWO specialty are combined into one pool from
which the board may select. CWO promotion boards are not given quotas for
the different specialties. All CWO specialties compete on an even playing
field for promotion. Details of the CWO promotion process can be found in
Article 1.D of
Officer Accessions, Evaluations, Promotions, COMDTINST M1000.3.

CWO's who
are selected for the CWO to LT program or other officer commissioning
programs are appointed temporary officers. They retain their permanent rank
of CWO until they integrate as regular officers, if they so choose. During
this period, they will continue to be considered for promotion to W-3 and
W-4 in their permanent grade of CWO even though they are temporary
officers. These officers are included on CWO promotion eligibility lists as
long as they remain permanent warrants which is why you see them on
promotion lists to W-3 and W-4. (14 U.S.C § 214) If a temporary officer
twice fails of selection in his/her permanent grade of CWO, that officer
will be retired or discharged from the Service.

The
number of warrants that can be deep selected by a board is limited to not
more than 10% of the total number recommended for promotion. All of the
same general information regarding deep selection of other officers applies
to CWO deep selection. (10 U.S.C. § 575)

Every board
has a different membership and creates their own criteria for selection.
One year a CWO appointment board may consider someone qualified for
selection and the next year the same board (made up of different people) may
not.

First, the CWO appointment
board determines who is fully qualified, then they prepare the eligibility
list of those individuals fully qualified for appointment and rank order
each candidate within their specialty on a best qualified basis.
The board establishes the criteria used for determining who is best
qualified.

If you have questions on
the CWO appointment process leading up to the board itself, the links listed
below are fantastic sources of information. The entire CWO appointment
process is governed by Article 1.D of Officer Accessions,
Evaluations, Promotions, COMDTINST M1000.3and is set forth in PSCNOTE 1401 (series).

The
Register of Officers is a fluid document that changes as officers retire,
resign, gain relief through BCMRs, etc. The Register of Officers that you
see on the web is a snapshot as of 1 January of each year. The opm-1
promotion section maintains a "master" Register of Officers that is used for
ordering all promotion results.

14 U.S.C 253 is the law that
provides the foundation for communicating with an ADPL board. It is further
explained in 3.A.4.f of Officer Accessions, Evaluations, Promotions, COMDTINST
M1000.3 and
PSCNOTE 1401.

This is difficult to answer. For ADPL
boards, communications to the board are generally the exception rather than the
rule. It can be interpreted in a positive manner or it may bring undue
attention to a portion of your record.

The
Officer Accessions, Evaluations and Promotions COMDTINST M1000.3 states it
is optional.
The Officer Accessions, Evaluations and Promotions COMDTINST M1000.3also states that any communications to the board must go through your
CO. To note that this requirement has been met, it must have at least
a signature endorsement. An endorsement with text comments is
optional.

You may not directly or
indirectly criticize any officer's character, motive or conduct through your
communications. Additionally, you are to confine your statements to matters of your
official record. Communications to the board are not a means to get information that
is prohibited in an OER before a board.

Frequently, officers think they need to use communications to
the board to transmit last minute approved documents for their record such
as a CG-3307, CG-4082 or an authorized military award citation. This is not
necessary as these documents may be sent separately to CG PSC without communications
to the board for inclusion into your official record.

Yes. You may mention that you have a
BCMR or PRRB pending. Under most circumstances, you cannot describe the
specific grievances - this will usually result in criticizing the conduct,
motive, or character of another officer.

You may
discuss your opinion as to why you think you were passed over. There
is no way to formally know why you were not selected. Additionally, it
is recommended that you not give a board reasons to consider not selecting
you again by drawing attention to any performance dimensions that otherwise
might not be noticed.

Yes.
You may send your communications to the president of the particular
continuation board. If you are selected by the promotion board, you
will not appear before the continuation board and your letter will not be
seen.

CG PSC (opm)
reviews all communications to the board for legal sufficiency. If there is
a prohibited comment, we will attempt to contact the officer and explain the
problem, giving an opportunity to revise it. This is why it is important to
submit the communications early. If there is no time to allow for resubmission
before the board, the prohibited comments will be marked out.